HATCHET MAN: A weak Manchester United side won't relegate Newcastle or Sunderland - being rubbish fo

20 May 2009 10:21

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The idea of Manchester United being sued for fielding an understrength side against Hull as the last two relegation places are decided on Sunday is fantastically ridiculous.
It will never happen because the law it would have to be based on is notoriously vague and difficult to build any sort of case around.
But if it did it would show how perverse the sport's suing culture has become and what a lot of nonsense the whole Sheffield United-Carlos Tevez-West Ham saga was after all.
If the proposed threat has any validity, Kevin McCabe and co could have taken United rather than West Ham to court because Sir Alex Ferguson admitted to fielding an understrength side on the final day of the season against them when they survived two years ago.
But everyone must know that teams who go down have no-one else to blame except themselves.
Other club's rule breakers are simply not at fault for a whole season of inconsistent results and, in the case of Newcastle, Hull, Middlesbrough and Sunderland, various forms of mismanagement.
It is a pathetic state of affairs if we have reached the stage where clubs who go down seek to exploit some sort of legal loophole to soften the blow or win reinstatement every season.
They are either good enough to stay up or they are not and it is clear to anyone who has seen this season's relegation candidates that it is the latter.